thetaOwl

HYG

iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETFClose $79.84EOD only
Max Pain
$80.00
Next expiry Jun 5, 2026
Expected Move
±$0.29
0.4% from close
Price Gap
+0.16
Distance to max pain
IV Rank
6
Low premium
P/C OI
3.85
Slightly put-heavy
Consensus
9.0/10
Bearish tilt
Published snapshot: Jun 1, 2026 close
End-of-day snapshot

This page reflects HYG options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.

Published Snapshot
Jun 1, 2026 close
HYG Flow Report
Analysis based on market close April 17, 2026

Historical consensus-supported lens with full content, report chain context, and metric rail.

You are viewing an older report from April 17, 2026. A newer flow report is available for May 26, 2026.

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Flow Verdict

BiasBearish
Confirmation: Large concentrated put prints (75/70 Sep), high PCR and PC OI ratios, negative net premium, bearish flow regime despite positive GEX (pinning).
Invalidation: Sustained rally above major pin level/MP with rising call prints or rapid decline in put OI; VIX spike undermining pinning thesis.
Confidence:
7 / 10
base 5; -1 GEX/flow contradict; +1 GEX positive (pinning); +1 spot 0.8% from MP; +1 VIX 17

Watch next session: Spot vs MP and moves toward/above 79–84 strikes; Changes in put OI around 75–70 Sep cluster; New large call prints or reversal in net premium; VIX and volume spikes

Flow Summary

Net premium: -$27.4M bearish

P/C volume ratio: 3.12

P/C OI ratio: 4.82

Pinned gamma with dominant bearish directional flow: heavy short-dated and long-dated put accumulation concentrated near 75–70 strikes, high PCR/PC OI, negative premium—watch for MP breach or call buying to invalidate.

Notable Prints

#1
HYG 2026-09-18 $70.00 Put
Vol: 40,001
OI: 431
Vol/OI: 92.8x
IV: 28.6%
Notional: ~$1.4M
Intent: Deep protection or speculative tail put buy
Dual read: Cheap long-tail gamma vs large sell-to-open

Read-through: High vol/oi indicates one-off block; tail risk focus

#2
HYG 2026-05-01 $80.00 Put
Vol: 7,012
OI: 516
Vol/OI: 13.6x
IV: 11.9%
Notional: ~$112K
Intent: Unclear flow intent

Read-through: Needs contextual interpretation.

#3
HYG 2026-07-17 $79.00 Call
Vol: 2,227
OI: 731
Vol/OI: 3.0x
IV: 8.0%
Notional: ~$220K
Intent: Call buying or hedged short exposure
Dual read: Rotation into calls vs hedged reversal trades

Read-through: Notable call demand but smaller than put flow

#4
HYG 2026-09-18 $75.00 Put
Vol: 80,054
OI: 35,599
Vol/OI: 2.2x
IV: 21.0%
Notional: ~$4.6M
Intent: Large institutional downside hedge or block long puts
Dual read: Sell-side liquidity provision vs directional buy

Read-through: Concentrated puts near gamma flip; amplifies pinning/bearish flow

#5
HYG 2026-11-20 $82.00 Put
Vol: 396
OI: 180
Vol/OI: 2.2x
IV: 19.4%
Notional: ~$164K
Intent: Unclear flow intent

Read-through: Needs contextual interpretation.

Institutional Positioning

Call additions: Some call buying (notable 79 Jul OI) but modest relative to puts

Put additions: Large put accumulation around 75 Sep (35.6k OI) and 80–84 series into later expiries — consistent with protective hedges or collar structures; directional shorts also possible but not confirmed

GEX/DEX consistency: Mixed: market GEX is strongly positive (dampens realized vol/downside pinning), while DEX shows net buy interest—this counteracts but does not eliminate downside pressure from put concentration, raising uncertainty

OI clusters: OI concentrated in 75–84 strikes (peak 75 Sep); estimated gamma flip near ~79 from put cluster

Hedging evidence: Structure and tenor of puts imply institutions are layering protective hedges/collars rather than unambiguously naked bearish exposure

Max pain context: Spot near calculated max pain; put cluster suggests pinning risk into mid‑70s–low‑80s but positive GEX makes the path to pinning less certain

Signal vs Noise

~Signal: Very large 75 Sep put OI (35.6k) indicates institutional protective hedging or directional bearish conviction as one hypothesis
~Signal: High put/call OI ratio and negative net premium support skewed demand for downside protection
~Noise: 70 Sep sweep had big volume but low lasting OI—likely a trade/sweep, not a sustained position
~Noise: 79 Jul call activity is small vs put book and may be hedging or yield enhancement

Key Conclusions

⚠️Institutions appear to favor protective hedges/collars concentrated around 75–84; directional bearishness is a plausible but unconfirmed interpretation
🔁Large positive GEX can blunt downward moves and increases uncertainty about pinning despite heavy put OI—expect mixed dynamics
How to Use These Reports
This flow reflects the market close on April 17, 2026.
What the reports do

Each report translates the same market-close options snapshot into a specific lens such as directional bias, premium-selling posture, flow quality, or earnings setup.

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What to remember

These are interpretation layers, not execution guarantees. Validate the setup against chain liquidity, expected move, and exposure before sizing risk.

If the report conviction and the raw data disagree, slow down and resolve the mismatch before sizing risk.